It is known to provide dryers for particulate material in which an oscillating feed-chute laterally traverses the upper surface of the dryer conveyor belt to deposit material on the belt. Conventionally such a feed-chute is driven by a disc crank which gives a simple, harmonic reciprocating motion to the chute. The harmonic motion results in a product spread which is non-uniform on the conveyor belt, with the deposition of too much material along the sides of the belt and too little in the middle two-thirds width of the belt. This substantially and adversely affects the performance of the dryer.
An improvement is known in which a hydraulic mechanism drives the reciprocating feed-chute. The hydraulic mechanism has a very fast, quick return at the end of each traverse resulting in a more uniform spread of particulate material onto the conveyor belt. However, the cost of such a hydraulic mechanism has increased substantially resulting in the need for an inexpensive, mechanical drive which is capable of spreading the product uniformly enough on the conveyor belt to ensure proper drying.